Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell for a second
day as data showed the biggest decline in U.S. consumer
confidence in 10 months and investors awaited Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s speech in three days.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. slid 1.2 percent as nine
out of 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index
declined. Eco Oro Minerals Corp., a gold explorer in which hedge
fund Paulson & Co. owns 10 percent, plunged 55 percent after
Colombia granted an extension on less than half the company’s
title rights. Bank of Montreal paced gains among financial
companies after it boosted its dividend.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 38.92 points, or 0.3
percent, to 12,009.90 in Toronto. About two stocks fell for each
that rose in the Canadian equity benchmark.

“People are waiting to see what Bernanke has to say,”
David Baskin, president of Baskin Financial Services Inc. in
Toronto, which manages about C$450 million ($445 million) in
assets, said in a phone interview. “There was mixed economic
news from the U.S. today. While housing prices were better,
consumer confidence was weaker-than-expected.”

Consumer Confidence

The Conference Board’s index of U.S. sentiment decreased to
60.6 from a revised 65.4 in July, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. The 4.8-point
decrease was the biggest since October. Economists projected a
reading of 66, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg
survey.

A separate U.S. report also showed that home prices in 20
U.S. cities climbed in June from a year earlier, the first gain
in almost two years.

Potash, the world’s largest fertilizer producer, slid 1.2
percent to C$40.22, while Enbridge Inc., the largest transporter
of Canadian crude to the U.S., lost 1.4 percent to C$38.69.

Eco Oro fell 55 percent to 88 cents, the most since 1992.
Colombia’s national mining agency said in a resolution dated
Aug. 8 that it would only extend the title on 46 percent of Eco
Oro’s Angostura gold and silver concession because the rest of
the land was located on a paramo, which is a high-altitude
watershed area. The portion of the concession that wasn’t
extended contains about 70 percent of the Angostura deposit.

Nexen Slips

Nexen Inc. lost 1.1 percent to C$25.11. Canadian Industry
Minister Christian Paradis said Cnooc Ltd. will soon file an
application to the federal government for approval of the
Chinese company’s takeover bid for the oil and gas producer.
Cnooc last month offered to acquire Calgary-based Nexen for
$15.1 billion in what would be the biggest overseas takeover by
a Chinese company.

Bank of Montreal added 0.5 percent to C$58. The nation’s
fourth-biggest bank raised its dividend for the first time in
five years after profit rose 37 percent to C$970 million, or
C$1.42 a share. It increased its dividend 2.9 percent to 72
cents a share.

“It’s all about the banks with a couple of days of
reports,” Anil Tahiliani, a fund manager at McLean & Partners
Wealth Management, said in a phone interview from Calgary. The
firm manages about C$1 billion ($1.01 billion). “It’s positive
that they continue to show, even in a weak or slow-growth
economy in Canada, that banks can make good profits and return
capital to shareholders.”

Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lender, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are
scheduled to release third-quarter earnings on Aug. 30. About
half of the companies in the S&P/TSX that have reported
quarterly results exceeded analysts’ estimates, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg.